Capital Blues

Blues Dancing in Washington DC

Blues Chili Bowl

March 30th at Glen Echo!

Want a little more flavor in your blues dancing?

... That's what we thought. So we're bringing you a whole day of workshops! Indulge!! Pick and choose from our wide variety of classes all taught by a smorgasbord of talented instructors who call the DC area home! We are mixing it up to bring you a buffet of ideas and multiple ways of looking at and growing your dancing. YOU decide between two amazing classes every time.

We'll have two tracks during the day...
One for those of you who want to work on "Lookin' Good" and one for those of you who want to work on "Feelin' Good"
...featuring local instructors Niko Balcom, Ben Long, Mike Marcotte, Kelly Pavao, Dan Repsch, and Rachel Stirling.

The whole day of workshops is only $60, or you can take individual classes for only $15!

Schedule:

Time Lookin' Good Feelin' Good
11:00am - 12:15pm
  • No Pulse. No Blues.
  • Niko & Rachel
  • Better Together
  • Mike & Kelly
12:30pm - 1:45pm
  • Solo Doesn't Mean Alone
  • Kelly
  • Embracing Open Position
  • Mike & Rachel
1:45pm - 2:30pm BREAK
2:30pm - 3:45pm
  • JUKEbox Saturday Night
  • Niko & Kelly
  • Blues. Hips.
  • Dan & Rachel
4:00pm - 5:15pm
  • Fast and Not Furious
  • Dan & Rachel
  • Two-tone
  • Ben & Kelly
5:30pm - 6:30pm
  • Breakin' Out (of your box)
  • ALL of them!

After spicing up your dancing all day, try it out on the beautiful wooden floors of the Spanish Ballroom to the sweet sounds of Kim Massie and the Solomon Douglas Swingtet - Facebook Event

Descriptions:

Better Together (Mike & Kelly)
Dancing always feels better when you are on the same page! Learn how to find better connection in the middle of a dance, right before a big move, and ways to fine-tune that listening ear throughout. We'll explore how to know when your partner is ready to listen and how to deliberately express ideas during those quiet windows of opportunity.
 
Blues. Hips. (Dan & Rachel)
Hips characterize blues dance.  No matter the movement, they are the key to strength and flexibility.  We'll explore their function first in our bodies and then in blues dance, by introducing a wide variety of vocabulary.  If you want more confidence about both expressing your own and feeling your partner's hip movement, this class is for you.   
 
Embracing Open Position (Mike & Rachel)
Letting go in open position can sometimes scare and intimidate dancers, however there is a whole world of possibilities in partnering, expression and play out there.  We'll get you feeling comfortable and connected in a variety of ways to make open position the release it should be.
 
Fast and Not Furious (Dan & Rachel)
Blues is more than slow jams, and we'll show you how to rock those racing tempos without even breaking a sweat. Starting with a take on the all-important pulse, we'll share a few go-to moves to get you started. We'll also explore various styles of blues music and how to match your dance while still managing the higher tempos with ease.
 
JUKEbox Saturday Night (Niko & Kelly)
Bring a nickel for the jukebox, and we’ll show you what it means to get that groove on. Learn what makes Jukin’ different from other blues dances (like Ballroomin’) and how to move your body so you’re really getting down.
 
No Pulse. No Blues. (Niko & Rachel)
If you're not pulsing, you're not blues dancing.  Pulse is one of the defining aspects of this dance, it plays a vital role in staying connected with the music, your partner, and the floor.  Pulse can take on many forms, and we will explore these to make our dancing look and feel better.
 
Solo Doesn't Mean Alone (Kelly)
The first step to partner dancing is learning to move your own body. I’ll remind you of some body parts that you may have forgotten about, and then not only will we come up with some ways to move them, but I’ll teach you how to steal ideas from other people and make them yours. Who said you had to do this by yourself?
 
Two-Tone (Ben & Kelly)
Like a wet noodle or like a rock? Dancing isn't quite that black & white. We’ll help you define the edges so we can discover a whole range of tones in the middle that we can use to make your dancing feel oh-so-good in a variety of ways.